by our College Data Analytics Team
With 137,622 bachelor's degrees handed out in <nil>, psychology is the #5 most popular major in the United States.
This year's Best Psychology Colleges for Non-Traditional Students ranking analyzed 658 colleges that offered a bachelor's degree in psychology. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent psychology programs, but they also offer a lot of support to non-traditional students.
To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as affordability, and overall quality of the psychology program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Psychology Schools for Non-Traditional Students list to help you make the college decision.
In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.
Check out the psychology programs at these schools if you want to see which ones are the best for non-traditional students.
Walden University tops the 2021 list of our schools in the United States that are best for non-traditional psychology students. Walden University is a very large private for-profit school located in the city of Minneapolis.
About 1.1% of Walden University students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. All 46,455 students take classes exclusively online at Walden University. There are roughly 27,673 part time students in attendance at Walden University.
Our rankings recognize University of California - San Diego as the #2 school in this year's rankings. Located in the large city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public school with a very large student population. UCSD also made our Best Colleges for Psychology list, coming in at #1.
About 0.6% of UCSD students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. There are approximately 21,222 students at UCSD that take at least one class online. About 1,605 of the students at UCSD are attending part time.
Read full report on Psychology at University of California - San Diego
Bay Path University landed the #3 spot in our 2021 best psychology schools for non-traditional students. Bay Path is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Longmeadow. In addition to being on our bet for non-traditional students list, Bay Path is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Colleges for Psychology list.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 1.3%. 1,626 of Bay Path students are exclusively distance learners. 1,300 students are part time.
Capella University earned the #4 spot in our 2021 rankings. Located in the large city of Minneapolis, Capella University is a private for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 1.1%. There are approximately 38,716 students at Capella University and they are all exclusively distance learners. About 30,933 of the students at Capella University are attending part time.
Boston College landed the #5 spot in our 2021 best psychology schools for non-traditional students. Located in the city of Chestnut Hill, Boston College is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population. Boston College not only placed well in our non-traditional rankings. It is also #2 on our Best Colleges for Psychology list.
About 0.5% of Boston College students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. There are approximately 6,590 students at Boston College that take at least one class online. 1,916 of Boston College students are attending part time.
Our rankings recognize Kean University as the #6 school in this year's rankings. Kean is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Union.
About 3.1% of Kean students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. There are approximately 1,503 students at Kean that take at least one class online. 3,314 students are part time.
Our rankings recognize George Mason University as the #7 school in this year's rankings. Located in the large suburb of Fairfax, GMU is a public school with a very large student population. As a testament to the quality of education it offers, GMU also is in the top 10% of our Best Colleges for Psychology ranking.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 0.8%. There are approximately 21,490 students at GMU that take at least one class online. 12,712 students are part time.
University of California - Los Angeles comes in at #8 in this year's ranking. UCLA is a fairly large public school located in the city of Los Angeles. UCLA not only placed well in our non-traditional rankings. It is also #6 on our Best Colleges for Psychology list.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 0.7%. There are approximately 25,859 students at UCLA that take at least one class online. About 2,161 of the students at UCLA are attending part time.
Full Psychology at University of California - Los Angeles Report
Grace College and Theological Seminary earned the #9 spot in our 2021 rankings. Located in the distant town of Winona Lake, Grace College is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. On top of its placing in our non-traditional rankings, Grace College also did well on our Best Colleges for Psychology list. It's in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in that analysis.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 0.9%. There are approximately 630 students at Grace College that take at least one class online. 426 students are part time.
Full Psychology at Grace College and Theological Seminary Report
Lesley University earned the #10 spot in our 2021 rankings. Lesley is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Cambridge. In addition to being on our bet for non-traditional students list, Lesley is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Colleges for Psychology list.
About 1.5% of Lesley students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. 779 students at Lesley are exclusively online. 2,071 of Lesley students are attending part time.
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities landed the #11 spot in our 2021 best psychology schools for non-traditional students. Located in the city of Minneapolis, UMN Twin Cities is a public college with a fairly large student population. UMN Twin Cities excels when it comes to major quality. It's ranked in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Colleges for Psychology list.
The student loan default rate at UMN Twin Cities is lower than is typical, just 0.6% of students default in three years. There are approximately 21,237 students at UMN Twin Cities that take at least one class online. 13,655 students are part time.
Southern New Hampshire University earned the #12 spot in our 2021 rankings. Located in the suburb of Manchester, SNHU is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
The student loan default rate at SNHU is lower than is typical, just 2.0% of students default in three years. 138,672 of SNHU students are exclusively distance learners. 102,147 of SNHU students are attending part time.
University of Virginia - Main Campus comes in at #13 in this year's ranking. Located in the small suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public college with a fairly large student population. On top of its placing in our non-traditional rankings, University of Virginia also did well on our Best Colleges for Psychology list. It's in the top 5% of all schools reviewed in that analysis.
The student loan default rate at University of Virginia is lower than is typical, just 0.5% of students default in three years. There are approximately 4,175 students at University of Virginia that take at least one class online. About 2,758 of the students at University of Virginia are attending part time.
Read full report on Psychology at University of Virginia - Main Campus
University of Arizona earned the #14 spot in our 2021 rankings. Located in the large city of Tucson, University of Arizona is a public college with a fairly large student population. On top of its placing in our non-traditional rankings, University of Arizona also did well on our Best Colleges for Psychology list. It's in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in that analysis.
The student loan default rate at University of Arizona is lower than is typical, just 1.6% of students default in three years. There are approximately 18,254 students at University of Arizona that take at least one class online. About 12,642 of the students at University of Arizona are attending part time.
Brandman University earned the #15 spot in our 2021 rankings. Located in the city of Irvine, Brandman is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 1.2%. About 5,783 of the students at Brandman are attending part time.
San Jose State University landed the #16 spot in our 2021 best psychology schools for non-traditional students. San Jose State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of San Jose. San Jose State excels when it comes to major quality. It's ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Colleges for Psychology list.
About 0.9% of San Jose State students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. Approximately 19,939 students take at least one class online at San Jose State. About 9,800 of the students at San Jose State are attending part time.
William Jessup University landed the #17 spot in our 2021 best psychology schools for non-traditional students. Located in the rural area of Rocklin, William Jessup University is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
About 2.0% of William Jessup University students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. Approximately 545 students take at least one class online at William Jessup University. There are roughly 386 part time students in attendance at William Jessup University.
California State University - East Bay landed the #18 spot in our 2021 best psychology schools for non-traditional students. Located in the large suburb of Hayward, Cal State East Bay is a public college with a large student population.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 1.3%. 7,069 students at Cal State East Bay are exclusively online. About 3,650 of the students at Cal State East Bay are attending part time.
Our rankings recognize Boston University as the #19 school in this year's rankings. Boston U is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Boston. As a testament to the quality of education offered at Boston U, the school also landed the #5 rank in our Best Colleges for Psychology ranking.
The student loan default rate at Boston U is lower than is typical, just 0.5% of students default in three years. 4,032 of Boston U students are exclusively distance learners. 7,057 of Boston U students are attending part time.
The #20 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Saint Joseph's University. St. Joe's is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Philadelphia. St. Joe's excels when it comes to major quality. It's ranked in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Colleges for Psychology list.
About 1.2% of St. Joe’s students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. 2,032 students at St. Joe’s are exclusively online. 2,163 of St. Joe’s students are attending part time.
The University of Texas of the Permian Basin landed the #21 spot in our 2021 best psychology schools for non-traditional students. UT Permian Basin is a medium-sized public school located in the medium-sized city of Odessa.
The student loan default rate at UT Permian Basin is lower than is typical, just 2.8% of students default in three years. 2,887 students at UT Permian Basin are exclusively online. 2,711 of UT Permian Basin students are attending part time.
Read full report on Psychology at The University of Texas of the Permian Basin
Our rankings recognize University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as the #22 school in this year's rankings. UNC Chapel Hill is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Chapel Hill. As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UNC Chapel Hill also is in the top 5% of our Best Colleges for Psychology ranking.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 0.9%. Approximately 6,990 students take at least one class online at UNC Chapel Hill. 5,151 students are part time.
Full Psychology at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Report
The #23 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Georgetown University. Located in the large city of Washington, Georgetown is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population. Georgetown also made our Best Colleges for Psychology list, coming in at #9.
About 0.2% of Georgetown students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. Approximately 4,343 students take at least one class online at Georgetown. About 5,553 of the students at Georgetown are attending part time.
The #24 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Metropolitan State University. Metro State is a medium-sized public school located in the large city of Saint Paul.
The student loan default rate at Metro State is lower than is typical, just 1.4% of students default in three years. Approximately 2,941 students take at least one class online at Metro State. 4,032 of Metro State students are attending part time.
Read full report on Psychology at Metropolitan State University
Colorado Christian University earned the #25 spot in our 2021 rankings. Located in the midsize city of Lakewood, CCU is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.
About 2.2% of CCU students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. 4,417 students at CCU are exclusively online. 5,948 students are part time.
This section shows the remainder of the colleges awarded a Best Psychology Colleges for Non-Traditional Students badge. Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 15% of the 658 different United States psychology schools we analyzed.
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Psychology Colleges for Non-Traditional Students award.
View the best for non-traditional students Psychology colleges in a specific region near you.
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Footnotes
*Avg Cost is for the top 25 schools only.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.
